Trump, Zelensky strike friendly tone as they talk Ukraine security, avoiding repeat of February Oval Office blowup

WASHINGTON — European leaders praised President Trump Monday for taking a “big step” toward securing peace between Russia and Ukraine by pledging to support security guarantees for Kyiv as part of a possible deal to end the continent’s deadliest war in 80 years.

Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put on friendly faces in front of the world’s media in the Oval Office — avoiding a replay of their ugly spat from February — before Zelensky invited the US president to join prospective talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Follow The Post’s live coverage of President Trump’s meeting with Zelensky

“If you want me there, I’ll be there,” Trump affirmed at the start of a meeting that included the leaders of the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and the United Kingdom.

In the Oval Office, Trump, 79, reflected approvingly on the fact that Zelensky, 47, chose to wear a military-style suit in a sign of respect — ditching his usual camouflage wardrobe — while both leaders handled occasionally hostile press questions without clashing.

After the remaining seven participants joined Trump and Zelensky in the East Room, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte  — dubbed “The Trump Whisperer” heaped praise on the commander in chief. 

“The fact that you have said, ‘I’m willing to participate in security guarantees’ is a big step — is really a breakthrough, and it makes all the difference,” the former Dutch prime minister said. “Thank you for that.”

European leaders were hoping during their meeting to gain clarity on what guarantees Trump is willing to provide, but one possibility is that the US could agree to come to Ukraine’s defense with NATO partners should Russia break the terms of any final deal.

“Your indication of security guarantees — of some sort of [NATO] Article 5-style guarantees — fits with what we’ve been doing with [Europe’s] Coalition of the Willing, which we started some months ago, bringing countries together and showing that we were prepared to step up to the plate,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

The high-level gathering of Zelensky and top European partners at the White House on such short notice was seen as a positive for Trump, who made ending Russian invasion of Ukraine one of his top promises on the campaign trail last year.

“This is a first for the White House. You can’t say that very often, it’s seen a lot over the years, over the — since 1800, 1799, to be almost exact — but this is the first where we’ve had so many prime ministers, presidents the heads of European nations,” said Trump.

The public portion of the European meeting included demands by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Russia agree to a cease-fire with Ukraine before peace negotiations — a condition Trump backed off of following his meeting with Putin in Alaska Friday.

“All of us would obviously prefer an immediate cease-fire while we work on a lasting peace, and maybe something like that could happen — but as of this moment, it is not happening,” Trump said. “But President Zelensky and President Putin can talk a little more about that.

“In the six or so wars that we stopped, we haven’t had a cease-fire, and so I don’t know that it’s necessary. You can do it through the war, but it would be, I like the cease-fire from another standpoint — you immediately stop the killing. But I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that’s very attainable, and it can be done in the near future.”

Zelensky said in the Oval Office there were “two parts” that Kyiv would demand in any peace deal, including a “strong Ukrainian army” featuring Western weaponry, training and intelligence sharing, and also persistent backing of “big countries.”

Meanwhile, Trump said the possibility of American troops in eastern Europe would be discussed. 

“We’ll let you know that maybe later today, we’re meeting with seven great leaders of great countries also, and we’ll be talking about that,” Trump said of US troops being placed in Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged Trump to also prioritize the return of thousands of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russians from occupied territory as a condition of peace.

“As a mother and grandmother, every single child has to go back to its family. This should be one of our main priorities also in these negotiations, to make sure that the children come back to Ukraine to their families,” she said.

Von der Leyen’s request came just days after Trump passed Putin a letter from first lady Melania Trump, urging him to protect “the innocence of these children” caught up in the war.

Heading into the meeting, there was no expectation that a formal deal would be reached, or even a date set for a trilateral meeting, sources familiar with the discussions told The Post on Monday, with the goal instead to get all parties “on the same page.”

While territorial matters were likely to be discussed, there was no expectation that Zelensky would have to give up part of the strategically crucial Donetsk region, or oblast, that Russia has been unable to take over the past 41 months of war.

Instead, the US was watching for any willingness by Ukraine to discuss what they might be willing to agree to regarding the land Moscow currently occupies.“We need to sit and discuss different possibilities, different variants [of Russia occupying parts of Ukraine], because it’s possible to find very creative [alternatives,]” a source told The Post.

Last week, rumors flew that Russia may be willing to leave Kherson and Zaporhizia oblasts in exchange for Ukraine giving up Donetsk oblast. However, Moscow has since denied the reporting.

Putin has requested that Ukraine surrender its hold on Donetsk as a condition to end the war, while Zelensky has expressed fear that doing so would set the stage for a renewed onslaught.

Among the visiting European leaders, Macron and Starmer have agreed to commit troops to a peacekeeping operation following the signing of any deal, which the allies assess would grant NATO-like protection to Kyiv without formal admission to the alliance.

Trump vowed to call Putin at the conclusion of his meeting with Zelensky — and said even an impasse Monday was “not the end of the road” of negotiating for peace.